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An Open Letter To The Kentucky General Assembly And Rep. David Floyd from Mr.
Right Opinion
The following is an open letter to both the Kentucky General Assembly, and to a
man whom I've come to regard as a friend, and a true man of the people, Rep.
David Floyd (R-50th District: Bullitt, Nelson and Spencer Counties).
Rep. Floyd:
Thanks so much for sending a direct link to your proposed bill on Eminent Domain
legislation: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/06RS/HB165.htm ...the information I
found there was extremely enlightening, albeit somewhat brain-rattling for my
not-quite-ready for prime time legal knowledge!
I really appreciate all the hours of work it must have taken to write, rewrite,
etc. As I said, to the legally untrained eye, it certainly looks like you are
trying to look out for the interest of your constituents here in the Bluegrass.
My major problem is with all the legalese, which I assume are mostly standard.
One word, however, that struck the attention of both myself and a sharp-eyed
reader, was in Sec.2, subsection b; the word "blight." Merriam-Webster online
definers it as:
"Main Entry: 1blight
Pronunciation: 'blIt
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
1 a : a disease or injury of plants resulting in withering, cessation of growth,
and death of parts without rotting b : an organism that causes blight
2 : something that frustrates plans or hopes
3 : something that impairs or destroys
4 : a deteriorated condition "
There seems to me to be an inherent danger in using "blight" as a standard for
the authorization of eminent domain. All that would be needed for a municipality
to declare an area blighted would be for that municipality to simply ignore the
upkeep of the targeted area.
I know this may sound extreme, but, as you and I have both witnessed in our day,
there are those out there who are cunning (and extreme) enough to make a five,
or even ten year plan to make an area blighted: ignore this for two years;
ignore that for three; and ignore the rest for five and...Walla! We have a
blighted neighborhood which, for the good of the city, would be much better
served with an up-scale hotel and casino.
Another possible scenario might be a working class neighborhood with fairly-well
maintained homes which is dotted here and there with a run-down home...but a
home nonetheless. Would it be worth condemning this neighborhood as blighted
because, say, 10% of the homes were run-down? Or would 5% suffice? See what I
mean? Where is the line drawn? This is something that MUST be clarified for the
good of our property owners.
And to take it a step further-when is a home considered "run-down" to begin
with? This is another obstacle which, in my humble opinion, needs to be
addressed. Yet another is, could the neighborhood in question be brought up to "unblighted"
standards for a fraction of the cost that it would take to raze the whole
community and rebuild a more prosperous one?
After all, in most of these eminent domain cases we have seen since the
unfortunate Connecticut Supreme Court ruling, all that is being done is running
out a group of hard-working lower-middle class families and businesses in an
effort to bring in higher scale properties and businesses--naturally for the
intention of a higher tax base and more revenue for the local government. They
don't come straight out and admit that is the reason, but once in a while, like
with that genius of a mayor in Florida, one will slip and the sheep's clothing
comes off. We would be insane to think that the same thing couldn't possibly
happen here.
I am not claiming to have all the answers to what are obviously some pretty
tough questions. I am not a politician, and I never even went to law school.
However, I was raised to know right from wrong, and I am going to give the GREAT
benefit of the doubt that all of your colleagues in our State Assembly were as
well.
Now, all we need to do is to get our Senators and Representatives, whom we have
already established know right from wrong, and who, by their very titles, are
politicians, to fuse those two virtues into an alloy that would make a
bullet-proof eminent domain law for the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky!
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